{"id":987,"date":"2026-09-25T18:38:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/?p=987"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:44:16","slug":"heritage-platform-ken-acton-candidate-for-windsor-city-council-ward-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/heritage-platform-ken-acton-candidate-for-windsor-city-council-ward-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage Platform \u2013 Ken Acton \u2013 Candidate for Windsor City Council Ward 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This post is the twenty-second in a series in which we reached out to municipal candidates to ask their heritage platform. Responses will be posted in the order received.<\/p>\n

Ken Acton was the twenty-second candidate to respond. He is running for the Ward 5 seat in the City of Windsor \u2013 the catchment area of which East Windsor between Pillette and Lauzon and includes the neighbourhood of Riverside.<\/p>\n

Our urban history has the ability to evoke emotion, drive culture and shape our identity.\u00a0 When we commit to preserving the historic fabric of our built environment, we create opportunities to generate value and build the places that people love!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bandshell located in Jackson Park, is one such place.\u00a0 The current structure was built in 1959 to replace the original built in 1950, which fell victim to a fire in 1957. It was designed by Windsor Architects Johnson & McWhinnie, who also designed the Cleary Auditorium & Convention Hall (1958\u201360), and the former main branch of the Windsor Public Library at 850 Ouellette Avenue<\/a>. Both notable buildings in their own right, by a firm woven into Windsor\u2019s architectural history.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As the Bandshell\u2019s history is tied to Emancipation Day and Walter Perry, it not only provides us with a tangible link to the past but a true reflection of the evolution of our society.\u00a0 The Emancipation Day events that were held there in the 1950\u2019s and 60\u2019s were some of the largest celebrations in Canada, and attracted individuals from all walks of life.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The City of Windsor and Council have the ability to recognize that fact, and foster a movement that creates value, while resisting the idea of disposable communities that form meaningless environments, lacking a distinct character, community, or purpose.\u00a0 Funding a feasibility study to assess the possible restoration and future use of the Bandshell would be a progressive and appropriate step in that direction.\u00a0 The City and Council should also be working to increase advocacy and support for historic places.\u00a0 Buildings such as Sandwich First Baptist Church and Our Lady of the Assumption Church are not just local neighbourhood landmarks, they are pillars of our Canadian history.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Recent changes to the Ontario Heritage Act under Bill 23 have created an environment that favours the demolition of non-designated properties on municipal heritage registries.\u00a0 These changes are forcing municipalities to either formally designate buildings, in a compressed timeline, or drop them from their registry.\u00a0 The deadline for municipalities to issue a notice of intention to designate for listed buildings is January 1, 2027.\u00a0 If a municipality fails to issue a notice by the respective deadline, the building must be removed from the registry and cannot be re-listed for a five-year period.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This haphazard approach to historic preservation and development, ignores both our culture and the significance of the built environment.\u00a0 Approached properly, historic preservation projects have the ability to encourage investment, honour our past and create unique communities, that increase value and bolster civic pride.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Windsor\u2019s losses have been great, but a few notable projects include St. Mary\u2019s Academy, the Norwich Block, Carnegie Library, and Riverview Hospital which was originally built as Ford City Public School.\u00a0 However, the Norwich Block\u2019s original Dominion Bank fa\u00e7ade (1908\u20131909) that was dismantled in 2000 and is currently in storage, provides an opportunity for us to reclaim a piece of that past.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As an advocate for labour history, Ford City\u2019s lost buildings and altered streetscapes pose a specific concern.\u00a0 The Ford Powerhouse, which is one of my favourite buildings, was designed by Albert Kahn and built in 1922.\u00a0 The building is currently at risk of being removed from the City of Windsor Municipal Heritage Register next January.\u00a0 If this occurs, the Powerhouse could become vulnerable to redevelopment scenarios, including demolition.\u00a0 Stripping the designation would leave the building completely unprotected against future redevelopment.\u00a0 Although Ford Canada recognizes this iconic structure and its contribution to Canadian history as being part of the largest single wartime workplace in our nation, I believe that formally preserving the property would be the best course of action. Its aesthetic and history continue to define a culture that still resonates within our community today.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As an Executive within the Windsor Region Society of Architects and the immediate past Chair of the 2026 Architectural Conservancy of Ontario\u2019s Heritage Awards, my appreciation of our historic structures runs deep.\u00a0 I truly believe that by preserving our past we have the opportunity to create a more meaningful future, and if elected to serve on Windsor\u2019s City Council, I would work diligently to highlight our historically significant places.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To follow the candidate’s campaign, visit his website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured picture courtesy of Ken Acton<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  This post is the twenty-second in a series in which we reached out to municipal candidates to ask their heritage platform. Responses will be posted in the order received. Ken Acton was the twenty-second candidate to respond. He is running for the Ward 5 seat in the City of Windsor \u2013 the catchment area …<\/p>\n

Heritage Platform \u2013 Ken Acton \u2013 Candidate for Windsor City Council Ward 5<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[285,268,180,298,302,411,16,92],"class_list":["post-987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-municipal-election","tag-adaptivereuse","tag-heritageplatform","tag-preservation","tag-ward5","tag-windsoron","tag-wrsa","tag-yqg","tag-heritage"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=987"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994,"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/987\/revisions\/994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/windsoressexremembers.ca\/en_ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}